Agitator for cheese-making.



A. CHRISTENSEN.

AGITATOR FOR CHEESE MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED 8EPT.21, 1011.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPII CO.. WASHINQTON. D c.

ANDREW CHRISTENSEN, OF 'IILLAMOOK, OREGON,

AGI'I'ATOR FOR CHEESE-MAKING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Application filed. September 21, 1911. Serial No. 650,531.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW CHRISTEN- SEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tillamook, in the State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Agitators'for Cheese-Making; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in agitators and more particularly to that class designed for stirring the curd in cheese making.

It is a well known fact that in cheese making the solid particles must be kept in motion so that the same will each be equally cooked and prevented from adhering to each other or to the bottom of the cooking vat.

The object of this invention is the provision of an agitator for this purpose which comprises a head which is supported by a suitable handle, and from which depends a plurality of arms between which are pivotally secured agitator plates which are limited in their swinging movement by adjustable rods connected to the free ends of the same and to the said head.

A further object of this invention is to improve and simplify devices of this character rendering them comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and efficient in use, and readily operated.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of construction, formations, combinations and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter more particularly described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken 45 through Fig. 2.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by similar characters of reference throughout the several views, the numeral 5 designates generally my improved agitator which 50 comprises a head 6 consisting of a rectangular shaped bar from the intermediate portion of one side of which extends a laterally projecting handle 7 which is secured to the said head in any suitable manner, but preferably by reducing the end thereof as at 8 and inserting the same through a transverse opening 9 formed in the head 6. The opposite ends of the head 6 are provided as well as the intermediate portion thereof with vertical squared openings 10 which receive the squared reduced upper ends 11 of a series of depending arms 12. The reduced extensions 11 are retained within the openings 10 by any desired means while the extension formed upon the intermediate end of the arms engages a groove located in the reduced terminal 8 of the handle 7, thereby holding the said handle against displacement from the head 6.

The lower portions of the arms 12 are alinally apertured as at 13 for the reception of a rod 14 which asses through the said apertures and is 0 set at its opposite ends as at 15 to prevent its displacement therefrom. Plates 16 are hinged to the rod 14 between the arms 12 and are held against contact with the same by spacing washers 17 interposed between the adjacent edges of the plates 16 and sides of the said arms. In order to limit the swinging movement of the plates 16 the upper free edges thereof have loosely connected thereto rods 18 which are formed at their opposite ends with eyes 19. These said eyes 19 surround similar rods 20 which are hingedly secured to the lower side of the head 6 between the arms 12. The opposite or lower ends of the rods 20 are formed with eyes 21 which surround the rods 18 thereby producing a sliding connection between these previously described rods 18 and 20. Owing to the connections between the plates 16 and head 6 the said plates are held in such position so that when the agitator is oscillated through a con-- taining vat these plates will serve to prevent the contents of the vat from adhering to the bottom thereof and causing the same to be forced upwardly toward the surface.

From the foregoing disclosures taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be manifest that an agitator of the nature described is provided for which will fulfil all of the necessary requirements of such a device.

Having thus fully described this invention what I claim is new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination in an agitator of a handled head, arms depending therefrom, a rod connecting said arms, plates hinged to the rods, rods connecting the plates and the head, and a sliding connection between the last mentioned rods.

2. The combination in an agitator such as described, of a head, a handle extending from the said head, spaced arms extending from said head, a rod connecting said arms, plates hinged to this rod, rods extending from the plates, rods extending from the head, eyes formed upon the terminals of these last mentioned sets of rods, the eyes formed upon the rods connected to the plates surrounding the rods connected to the head, and the rods connected to the head surrounding the rods connected to the plates, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination in an agitator of a head having a transverse opening formed therein, a handle located in said opening and formed with a notch in its under side, the said head having vertical openings formed in its opposite ends, and a vertical opening formed intermediate its ends and in communication with the said transverse opening, arms extended into the said vertical opening, the terminal of the arms located in the intermediate of the vertical openings engaging the notch formed in the handle, agitator plates supported by the arms and means for limiting the movement of the agitator plates.

In testimony whereof, I afiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW CHRISTENSEN.

Witnesses CARL HABERLAOH, F. W. CHRISTENSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

